The Lord of
the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring

It seems to be the law that anyone reviewing Peter
Jackson's film version of The Lord of the Rings tell what their relationship to
J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy is. So, yes, I read the books (as well as The
Hobbit) while in junior high school. I became a little obsessive, was
fascinated and studied the books. But by the time I got to Tolkien's final book, The
Silmarillion, I barely even made it through. And, frankly, I've barely given
the books a thought since. So I do have an interest in how the film would come out
without it being a consuming passion.

While seeing the film probably won't send
me back to the books, it is a rousing piece of cinema. First of all, let me say that
this is one of the most stunning looking films I have ever seen. The sets and mattes
are of breathtaking beauty (or horror) and the effects are terrific. The acting in a
film like this is somewhat superfluous, but it's nice that like Harry Potter before
it this film has placed a premium on finding distinguished actors to fill out the
roles. Elijah Wood is fine as hobbit Frodo Baggins, but his character as created is
somewhat passive. Far more impressive are Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Wizard, Viggo
Mortensen as the human ranger Strider and Cate Blanchett as elf queen Galadiel.

The one slight problem with the movie is that the story
sometimes feels a bit repetitive, the Fellowship goes into a mysterious place, is attacked
by a horde of frightening monsters, fights them off with barely an injury and moves on to
the next mysterious place to get attacked. Still these scenes are rarely less
than interesting and often riveting. Also, and again this is a problem that come
from the source material, not the film, but there is no real ending to the film. For
that we have to wait two years until the other two films of the trilogy are released. (12/01)